Henry D'Esterre Darby

Henry D'Esterre Darby
(1750-1823)

Henry D'Esterre Darby was the son of Jonathan Darby IV Esq., of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland. He was born in the year 1750 and died in the year 1823 at the age of 73. Being the second oldest in his family and having an uncle, Vice-Admiral George Darby, in the royal navy he was inspired, and led, to join the Royal Navy. Skipping forward in time, Henry Darby was promoted to Captain in 1783 and served under Nelson in the famous Battle of the Nile, while commanding the HMS Bellerophon in 1798, during this battle Darby was wounded, he also lost 4 Officers, 32 Seamen, and 13 Marines. Aside form the dead Darby received 5 Officers, 126 Seamen, and 17 Marines all wounded, in total his casualties added up to 197 men. He was then promoted to Rear Admiral of Blue in 1804. In 1805 , only a year later of being promoted from captain to Rear Admiral of the Blue, he was moved to Rear Admiral of the White. During the year of 1810 he was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Blue, and was later moved to being the Vice Admiral of the White in 1811.

William Orlando Darby (Darby's Rangers)

(is he a descendant of Abraham Darby?)

William Orlando Darby


William Orlando Darby (9 February 1911 - 30 April 1945) was an officer in the United States Army during World War II. Darby led the famous Darby's Rangers which evolved into the US Army Rangers and was also made famous as a major motion picture staring the American actor James Garner in the role of Darby.
Darby was born in Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas on 9 February 1911. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1933. Darby had reached the rank of captain in 1940. Early in the war, Darby served in staff positions, but in 1942 he was assigned by his commander, Major General Russell P. Hartle, to form a new unit that was modeled after the British commando units. Darby's unit bore the title "Rangers" and gained the nickname "Darby's Rangers". The unit was famous for its daring night raids and hit-and-run tactics.
Darby was eventually promoted to the rank of colonel and he led the new unit into combat in North Africa, Sicily, and Anzio. Darby returned to the US after the destruction of the 1st and 3rd battalions at Cisterna. For his outstanding work, General George S. Patton promoted him to brigadier general, but at his own request, was temporarily reduced in rank back to colonel so that he could stay with the troops he had trained and commanded in combat.
Darby was killed by an 88mm artillery fragment on 30 April 1945 while attached to the US 10th Mountain Division near Torbole, Italy. Darby was posthumously awarded the rank of Brigadier General and is buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery. He was the only US Army officer so honored in WW2.
In 1958 Darby was the subject of the motion picture Darby's Rangers, starring James Garner (some assume the 30-year-old Garner was too young for the role, but Darby was only 34 when he died). Darby's records, medals, military records, and uniforms are on display at the Old Fort Museum in Fort Smith, and his boyhood home is open for tours. One U.S. Army installation is named for Darby: Camp Darby, near Ft. Benning, Georgia, which is home to the second part of Benning Phase for Ranger School. Two U.S. Army installations in Europe were named for Darby: W.O. Darby Kaserne in Fürth, Germany (closed in 1995) and Camp Darby, near Livorno, Italy, which remains in use today.
William O. Darby Junior High in Fort Smith, Arkansas is named in his honor.

The First Iron Bridge Maker

ABRAHAM DARBY



The worlds first Iron bridge invented by Abrham Darby


Nationality: English



Gender: Male



Occupation: engineer



The work of Abraham Darby is considered by many to be the cornerstone of theIndustrial Revolution. His development of the coke-burning blast furnace in 1709 made possible the mass production of commercial grade iron. It, along with later improvements made by others, led to the evolution of the iron and steel industries, and the many industries they spawned in turn-- aircraft, automobiles, shipbuilding, and construction.
Darby was born near Dudley, Worcestershire, England in 1678. The iron industry at this time was hampered by its inability to produce sustained amounts ofheat at high temperatures necessary for continuous smelting operations. In the seventeenth century, charcoal was the leading fuel for stoking (feeding) furnaces. As demand for iron grew, so did the demand for charcoal. This drove the price for charcoal higher. Also, soft charcoal was incapable of physicallysupporting large amounts of iron ore inside the furnaces.
Darby had been employed in the copper-smelting industry in Bristol, England,where coke was used as fuel. Coke is a derivative of coal, produced by heating the coal and removing the sulfur and combustible impurities. Coke deliversa hotter, more sustained heat without flame. Coke became central to Darby's smelting process. When he established his Bristol Iron Works Company in 1708,he wisely chose the village of Coalbrookdale, in the upper Severn River valley in the west of England, where coal and coke were readily available.
Darby's first iron products were primarily small implements and cooking utensils. His business was greatly bolstered by an order from Thomas Newcomen for6t (5.4t) cylinders for his steam powered mine-pumping engines. The engines,in turn, proved to be useful in the blast furnace industry.
Darby managed to keep the coking process within his family. His son, AbrahamDarby II, continued making the Newcomen cylinders well after Darby's death onMarch 8, 1717. By 1758, 100 of the cylinders had been delivered by the Darbyfoundry.
Darby's grandson, Abraham Darby III, incorporated iron in construction when he collaborated with architect John Wilkinson on the Severn River bridge at Iron Bridge in 1779. Well after Abraham III's death in 1791, the Darby foundrywas commissioned by Richard Trevithick in 1802 to produce the first locomotive engine, which required a high-pressure steam boiler.
The area around Coalbrookdale grew into an iron-producing district. In time,however, it became a victim of its own success, succumbing to the depletion of its coal reserves, pollution, and changing markets; however, the iron and steelmaking industries of North America, and Asia can trace their origins to Coalbrookdale and Abraham Darby.

It is not entirely clear, which Abraham Darby this photograph portrays.